A HERO army sniper from Cheltenham has been paid £100,000 compensation after the Ministry of Defence put him and his family in danger by revealing his identity.
Craig Harrison agreed to do media interviews after killing two Taliban gunmen in Afghanistan from more than a mile-and-a-half away – 200ft beyond the official range of his rifle.
But Ministry of Defence rules state that snipers' identities should remain secret because they are high value targets for terrorists, and Corporal Harrison did not expect to be named in the interviews.
However, the MoD failed to tell the media that the Household Cavalry veteran should remain anonymous, and his name and picture were subsequently published worldwide.
Cpl Harrison and his family were placed in grave danger of being kidnapped by Al Qaeda sympathisers after the blunder, according to police intelligence.
He was forced to quit his Army home, temporarily leave the country and remove his teenage daughter from school before her GCSE exams. His wife also had to give up her hairdressing work.
The stress of the situation led to Cpl Harrison being placed on permanent sick leave, and it is believed he will now be medically discharged from the army.
A letter from the soldier's lawyers to the MoD said Cpl Harrison and his family suffered "acute distress and anxiety".
An MoD spokesman confirmed Cpl Harrison had received the compensation.
The spokesman added: "When compensation claims are received, they are considered on the basis of whether or not MoD has a legal liability to pay compensation. Where there is a proven legal liability, compensation is paid."
Cpl Harrison killed the two Taliban gunners in 2010 with consecutive shots while his colleagues came under fire.
The distance between Harrison and his targets was so great the 8.59mm bullets took almost three seconds to reach their target, travelling at almost three times the speed of sound.
Speaking to the media at the time, Cpl Harrison said his first shot had hit one man in the stomach and the second man in the side.
The astonishing feat came during a remarkable tour of duty. Cpl Harrison cheated death a few weeks later when a Taliban bullet pierced his helmet but was deflected away from his skull.
He later broke both arms when his Army vehicle was hit by a roadside bomb.
While they could still not guarantee his safety, the MoD acknowledged that his name was now in the public domain.
